Binance invests 3 million U.S. Dollars in US crypto trading desk

Binance made headlines today in the world of cryptocurrency, as their deal-making wing announced a significant investment in US over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trading desk Koi Trading.

In a press release, Binance Labs revealed that it had made a 3 million U.S. dollars investment into Koi Trading, an insignificant sum for the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, but a worthy one nonetheless.

“Koi Trading’s mission is to bridge fiat and cryptocurrencies in a compliant manner. This aligns with our broader vision at Binance to build the infrastructure which provides the freedom of value exchange globally”,

said Ella Zhang, Head of Binance Labs.

Koi Trading is an OTC trading operation headquartered in San Francisco, California. Koi also offers assistance with data science, quantitative research, and compliance consulting work. They also aim to be a trusted agency for private cryptocurrency trading.

CEO and founder of Koi, Hao Chen added, “Our team of experienced traders and sales personnel will join forces to tap into vast networks of counterparties in North America, Asia and the EU, bridging the gap that divides the current OTC landscape.”

OTC trading is prolific in China, even after all the previous crypto exchange bans, regulations, and complications. Currently, the majority of Chinese OTC cryptocurrency trading is done using a Chinese chat app called WeChat. However, these current methods are not trustworthy and challenging to use.

Hao Chen further added:

“With Koi’s robust AML program, extensive banking relations in the US, investment from Binance Labs, and strong trust amongst counterparties in the Greater China, we aim to be the market nexus that reduces trust and information asymmetry and improves cryptocurrency OTC deal close rate.”

The OTC market is booming across geographies even amid the current bear market. Earlier this year, CCN reported that Circle’s OTC crypto trading desk was seeing individual trades to the tune of more than 100 million U.S. dollars.

As the crypto market sees shocking downturns and extreme volatility, for crypto to remain useful, it needs to stay relevant to the tycoons who use it to move vast quantities of money. Thus, OTC trading remains a growth sector even as exchanges see traders pulling out.

There is no doubt that this move by Binance is well thought about. As the systems fall in place, OTC trading will become widely prevalent and appreciated.